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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25839457">Rakhi</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yass_Rani/pseuds/Yass_Rani'>Yass_Rani</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Karman Stories [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aman is now lowkey jealous, Kartik's just happy he found family, Other, Rakhi!Fic, also goggle and kartik are bffs change my mind</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:21:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,424</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25839457</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yass_Rani/pseuds/Yass_Rani</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s Raksha Bandhan, Kartik and Aman visit family and some nice bonding occurs.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aman Tripathi &amp; Goggle Tripathi, Kartik Singh &amp; Goggle Tripathi, Kartik Singh/Aman Tripathi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Karman Stories [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1644433</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rakhi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=my+pareshan+gays+%3A%27%29">my pareshan gays :')</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eleven months.</p><p>It had been eleven months since Article 377 was abolished. Nearly a year since Aman and Kartik got married in a rush of adrenaline and tears and Sholay references.</p><p>Eleven months since Kartik found a family. His family.</p><p>For twenty-five years, he’d always looked at families, mothers and sons, husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, cousins, aunts and uncles and siblings.</p><p>For twenty-five years, he’d never once thought he would have something like that one day. He’d imagined having a family, of course, so many times – he’d spent sleepless nights and wistful days wishing for a family, someone he could call home – but he never thought he’d have one.</p><p>Kartik thought the closest thing to family he would ever have was Aman. Many moments had occurred when Kartik felt like he didn’t even need a family now that Aman was with him. The love, the feeling of <em>home</em> and the happiness Aman gave him felt so much like what he thought families were supposed to feel like that he never questioned it.</p><p>Of course, he did wish he had a sister, or a father, a mother, someone – who he could introduce Aman to, show his boyfriend off, fool around at family nights and help out at family dinners, but all he knew was that Aman was family.</p><p>Aman felt like what Kartik supposed family would feel like.</p><p>Until he met the Tripathis.</p><p>Everyone except Shankar seemed to tolerate him pretty well at first, and the moment Aman had introduced Kartik to everyone, Sunaina had said something along the lines of whoever Aman’s friend was, was family. Chaman had joked around, asked if he needed a drink, Goggle seemed to know he and Aman weren’t just friends, Keshav seemed cool and Champa never really talked to him but she always sent a polite smile his way and at least seemed interested when Aman told her about him.</p><p>That was Kartik’s first glimpse at an actual, somewhat functional family and it nearly brought tears to his eyes – which then caused a whole other fiasco with Shankar realising his son was gay which he’d rather not think about now.</p><p>The night at the railway station with Goggle changed him. He knew, from Aman’s stories, that he and Goggle were pretty close, but he had no idea they were <em>this</em> close. It was obvious that Goggle was fiercely loyal and protective towards her brother and since a <em>long</em>,<em> long</em> time, Kartik wanted to have that.</p><p>Goggle had somewhat taken Kartik in as family before the rest of the Tripathis had even thought about it. Even the night of her ruined wedding, they spent the twilight hours thinking about how they would go back to Allahabad and get Aman his boyfriend back.</p><p>What she didn’t tell him was her tiny secret plan to make sure Kartik got what he deserved as well; a loving family – because even with all their stupid quirks, Goggle knew the Tripathis were loyal and loving and once they decided someone was family they would stay with them to the death.</p><p>Even when Kartik fought with Aman over Simran – no wait, Kusum; he still can’t get her name right – he’d sulked off to a corner only to find Goggle walking to him, hugging the large man with as much might as she could muster. She’d talked to him and listened to him for <em>hours</em>, not even caring one bit about the impending wedding. She stayed with him during his worst breakdowns and Kartik still isn’t sure, but maybe that was when he realised he wanted a sister like Rajni.</p><p>That night, Kartik’s entire world flipped over. He married Aman – illegally – and then found out it actually was legal a few hours later. He found a family. He realized he was part of an actual family.</p><p>On the train back to Delhi, as his arms were tight around Aman, his steady heart and the thud of the train’s engine lulled Kartik into a sort of calmness, a fulfilment he hadn’t felt in all his life.</p><p>Kartik Singh had a family.</p><p>Kartik Singh had a husband, a father, a mother, an uncle and an aunt and two cousins.</p><p>He’s never felt happier, and looking at Aman’s eyes through his teary vision, Kartik knew that Aman knew too.</p><p>---</p><p>Throughout the year, he’d grown closer to the Tripathis. He’d video call them every week, visit them on occasion and even ask Sunaina for cooking tips every once in a while, but the one he grew the closest to was Rajni.</p><p>They’d playfully stalked each on social media a month after the wedding, and they’d chat so much Aman sometimes joked about Rajni and Kartik being actual cousins for twenty-five years. Every time they were on a video call, Aman would fake a look of betrayal whenever Rajni ignored him to gush to Kartik over whatever the newest trends were, or the latest music or movies.</p><p>Then came Tumblr. Rajni had ‘accidentally’ found Kartik’s account and to this day wouldn’t tell him <em>how</em>, but they were now cousins-in-law <em>and</em> Tumblr mutuals, making Aman’s life a living hell of spammed textposts and fic recs.</p><p>All in all, Kartik Singh and Rajni Tripathi became the best of friends during the eleven months of their initial meeting, not to mention the slight cameos of Keshav jumping in at random intervals to piss the woman off.</p><p>---</p><p>Kartik stepped down from the train, bags in hands only to be completely covered in a seemingly endless horde of tripathis trying to take his luggage off him while simultaneously smothering him in hugs and greetings as a similarly flustered-now-relieved-from-attention Aman looked at him from the side, enjoying having the attention not on him for once.</p><p>Aman loved his family, he did, but the Tripathis were a bunch of magpies swarming at the nearest silver whenever their son came back home and he <em>despised</em> that part.</p><p>The moment they got back home, still being bombarded with questions about their jobs and friends and lives in Delhi, Rajni rushed inside, yelling at the boys to stay in the courtyard.</p><p>Now, Aman knew what was going to happen. It was the same every year – he would visit for Raksha Bandhan, Rajni would tie him a Rakhi and demand nothing less than half his month’s salary because <em>of course my brother can spend that on his dear sister</em>, and then hand him over to Sunaina for the rest of the day until he had to catch the train back before she pulled him away for their secret yearly tradition.</p><p>No one else knew what it was – Keshav and Sunaina swore they did some secret sacrificial ritual from a cult they were part of so the others didn’t question them at all.</p><p>This time, however, Aman had a rather smug smile on. The kind that he only wore when he knew something even Kartik didn’t.</p><p>When Rajni came back outside, she had the same glint in her eyes as her cousin, and Kartik knew something was going on. It was bugging him that Rajni had planned something with <em>Aman</em> and not him, as she usually did – he did try to let it go and focus on the present, and pushed it to the back of his mind to ponder on later as Rajni finished tying a rakhi on Aman’s wrist and emptying his wallet.</p><p>What he didn’t expect was what happened next.</p><p>Rajni ran up to him, brandishing a bright flash of colours as she grabbed Kartik’s wrist to hold it out in front of her. He obliged, eyes wide when he realised what the colourful thing was.</p><p>A rakhi.</p><p>Silk, and striped in rainbow colours, it looked custom made and Rajni’s soft smile as she tied the Rakhi around his wrist brought tears to Kartik’s eyes. His vision blurred and he barely registered Aman’s loving look from behind Rajni as the woman hugged him tightly, chuckling about how long she’d planned this for and how much Kartik meant to her.</p><p>At that moment, as pigeons fluttered around the courtyard, the Ganga splashed across its banks and the Tripathis smiled at Kartik, he realised something yet again – just stronger.</p><p>He had someone that he’d argue with, play around with, play pranks on the family with and spent entire nights talking to – heck, he’d even made stupid playlists with her.</p><p>He had a family.</p><p>He had a <em>sister</em>.</p><p>Kartik Singh had a <em>sister</em>, named Rajni Tripathi, and he swore to the high heavens he never could’ve asked for a better one.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading, and thanks to the Pareshan gays for the prompt I love you all!<br/>Leave kudos and/or comments they really mean everything to me &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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